The ubiquity of computing devices and growing demand for network data across the globe has created enormous demands for network performance improvements and complex challenges for engineers in meeting the demands and expectations of network users. Various network technologies have been developed precisely to meet this soaring demand for network data. One particular example technology involves the use of port channels, which have been implemented in various network environments with growing regularity.
Port channels are created by bundling multiple interfaces into a single virtual interface to provide higher bandwidth, load balancing, and link redundancy. For example, in some implementations, a port channel can be created using two to eight active Fast, Gigabit, or 10-Gigabit ports, with additional one to eight inactive ports configured for failover. Not surprisingly, port channels can provide great performance benefits. However, port channels can also create significant challenges in a network. And unfortunately, current solutions fail to properly correct and even address the challenges associated with port channels.